I think you are also not looking at the other side of the coin. People work hard at low-paying jobs in Japan, true. That leads to services being much more affor

I think you are also not looking at the other side of the coin. People work hard at low-paying jobs in Japan, true. That leads to services being much more affordable, so those low-wages go further. And I know you weren't taking the counter position to this, but there are also many intangible benefits from the values you mentioned being preeminent in Japan. More traditional families means fewer children raised in single-parent households, and thus lower incarceration rates, and fewer anti-social types leaving paths of destruction through society. More aggressive policing means less drug use and no opioid epidemic claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. It also means far less violence on the streets. See how many people are knifed and bottled in the UK for contrast. Not having to worry about random outbursts of terrifying violence makes for a significantly higher quality of life, with people feeling like they have more genuine freedom. More discipline means no riots with hundreds of millions of dollars in businesses going up in flames. And a more conservative culture allows the laws that make all of the above possible to remain in place instead of being swept away in counter-culture social movements that rail against traditional values.